The Nurburgring

Silverstone: The home of motor racing. Or is it? Just over 3.6 miles long and almost perfectly flat. Sterile and smooth with a couple of bendy bits.

Now compare Silverstone to the Nurburgring. Two straight sections each of 2.5 miles in length, a 43 degree banked corner, a 1000 feet difference in height from it's hills to its valley. 150 bends and 72 corners. Not forgetting the three jumps. Almost 15 miles of total fear. More scary than a gang of scary things wearing clown masks and carrying hand grenades with the pin out.

We will guide you round the circuit and when you come home you will be boasting (or lying) about your sub ten minute lap and you will be grinning like the Joker in Batman. You will be telling anyone not too bored to listen to you how you overtook a Porsche on the outside and how you hurt your knee on one of the rumble strips. You will mention the red Ferrari you could see in your mirrors who passed you on the straight but who lost out to your phenominal corner speed, especially on the carousel. You might also mention the coaches driving round with the tourists taking photos, and how you were almost taken off the track by the BMW RIng Taxi which only managed to overtake you because the driver "obviously knew the track"

Of course you might forget to tell your mates that actually you only averaged 55 miles an hour and the breakdown van full of equipment passed you, but why spoil a good story?

You will live off the excitement for weeks and weeks and you will be showing off the Nurburgring sticker on the back of your car, your motorbike and on your baby's bum. Well, not perhaps your baby's bum, but at least on the pram. And if you stick one on your wife's forehead she will think you still love her because you will be staring at her with glazed eyes.

Men and women will fall at your feet, starstruck by the bravery you have shown even to have attempted it. You will be lauded in the office. Strangers will buy you beer. Lingerie models and beefcake lifeguards will want to sleep with you.

Or, you can use your bike to commute to work and people will think you only own a bike because you are tight.

It's up to you really. Come and have a ride if you think you are hard enough.